Throwing Tomatoes
by Steve Hill on April 13, 2006
So I open up my email at work this morning and guess what’s first on the list? Someone had sent and email out addressed to ‘Everyone’ congratulating a fellow worker of mine who was interviewed in The NY Times about his new book, The $64 Tomato! I couldn’t believe it!
I didn’t even know this guy had written a book, though it actually seems like it’s pretty good, if you’re into vegetable gardening anyway. But really now, emails addressed to ‘Everyone’, write-ups in the Times and Life and every gardening journal known to man? Come on! Not that I want to take any success away from him, but how come some people get all the notice and others get totally overlooked? No one sent any emails out about my book when it first came out. In fact, when I posted about my book on our intranet, nobody even took notice. You would think there would be some interest there among co-workers!
I know this sounds jealous… but it should, because it is, and I am! How does a silly gardening book, which the author admitted only working on for 5 years, get so much attention, when my serious literary fiction novel, one that I toiled on for over 10 years, gets absolutely no ink? Geez, I can’t even get friends and relatives to buy the dumb thing. Is there like this Great Cosmic Cloud working against me or something?
I’m not asking for a million seller or for Tom Cruise to pick up the movie rights (though he’s assured of an Oscar win if he does, in my opinion) but how about some kind of recognition somewhere? My co-worker gets the Times and I get Community Life. Do you see what I’m getting at? Something’s amiss in the universe and I wish, just once, the stars and planets would align for me, even if only for a short while.
I guess that’s the stigma of independent publishing. People think that if you aren’t published by a mainstream house, then it’s no good. Why don’t they feel that way about independent films? It’s the same thing when you stop and think about it.
So I’ve decided on principle not to pick up my co-worker’s book. I don’t have a green thumb. And I don’t even like tomatoes, except when I’m throwing them.
Okay Terrific!
Steve
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Doesn’t seem I have to dig far to find ways to rip into your scraggly little ass. In fact, the second sentence on your site goes as follows:
“That’s the problem with this medication- it makes me very irratable, and that makes it hard to write anything productive.”
Need I say more? God you’re making it too easy! Or do you just like taking your medicinal irritableness out on unsuspecting people when you can hide safely behind your monitor?
First of all, you’ve obviously never heard of sarcasm. If you’d like to learn more about it, just listen to your wife after you’ve made it with her next time… you’ll recognize it. Trust me.
Secondly, going by your logic, my workmate’s book is also Girl Scout Cookie fodder because he’s hitting up fellow employees just like me.
Thirdly, learn how to friggin’ spell before you pretend to be a writer, would ya?
Jackass.
– Well now... (04/13 at 13-Apr 15:42 -05:00)
Pretend? So far, almost all of my works have been sold. SOLD. It’s not a lot of money, but it’s semi-pro and I’m building my way up the food chain. And- somebody paid me for my work. Not because they are family. Not because I treated it like girl scout cookies. But because I wrote something that some stranger thought was good enough to put money towards.
Spelling may be bad on random posts like this, but the work I send out I always check. I don’t consider posting on a random board even a semi-pro (or hell even indie) publication. Do you?
Blame this on my medication if you want, but I’ve said far crueler things to people when I was off of it. Take whatever pains you need to in order to invalidate my argument. So before you want to “rip on my scraggly little ass” you should actually sit back consider what it means to be professional.
Cause you sure as hell aren’t acting like it. If you want to be treated like a *real* writer, than act like one.
Oh- and next time, please, actually attack my arguments instead of my character. It might make this worth reading to other people.
– PaulJessup (04/14 at 14-Apr 05:51 -05:00)
Go away, you petty little man. And while you’re at it, stop using your attacks on other innocent people to substitute for the friends you obviously don’t have.
– Steve (04/14 at 14-Apr 14:12 -05:00)
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Maybe because yours was self published? Just because you can click an “I agree” button on Lulu’s website doesn’t mean your book deserves any attention at all. Toiling over a novel for ten years doesn’t make it a good novel. Or give you the right to be a jackass.
Maybe nobody wants to buy your novel because you act like this. If you treat your book like Girl Scout Cookies (ie: forcing everyone at work to buy one), then expect your book to be treated like Girl Scout Cookies.
– PaulJessup (04/13 at 13-Apr 12:57 -05:00)